Fall
by silvermoonstone23
Summary: Recon gave Leafa an awkward smile, and she beamed back. Together they glanced up at the moon above, watching over them with its soft ivory gaze. Months before, Leafa might have dismissively waved him away, but somewhere deep inside her she felt warm with his words. {Recon x Leafa}


A girl stood on a high hill, gazing wistfully at the shining, ghostly moon high above. Its pearly surface was radiating crisply in the clear deep blue of the night sky, so tauntingly visible. Should it not be simple to soar straight into the brisk atmosphere and graze its smooth exterior?

She sighed and sat on the ledge of the hill, her spindly legs hanging over the end and swinging slowly. Once, she was on the same hill, and for a split second wished she could be an Undine. It would be so _very _easy to be mournful; to sit at the water's edge with her feet swinging in the water, not the open air, while gazing at the stars.

But she had recalled quickly how she preferred the green life of forests to the silky, thick, watery currents. She was meant to be a Sylph. Water could only weigh her wings down, she decided, standing up from the ledge and shaking them out. They fluttered happily at her back. She was about to leap into the air and rise, flying out to clear her thoughts. But as she was about to, a shout startled her.

"Leafa-chan!"

Actually, startled was an understatement. She almost lost her footing and fell over. Catching herself, she whirled around in a fume, knowing exactly who the owner of that shrill voice was—honestly, she would probably be able to hear it calling to her all the way from the moon.

"Recon!" she sputtered harshly. "You scared me!"

Recon jumped a bit and looked nervous, as he usually did. He was so jittery. "A-ah, gomen, Leafa-chan…I just saw you were about to take off and I…"

"You what?" Leafa implored. Recon was her friend, but sometimes he just irked her.

"Why do you look so sad?"

Leafa stared at him, stunned. There were many reasons, and Recon probably knew all of them, yet he still asked. Maybe he was inquiring why she was _still_ so sad, even when that stupid Spriggan had broken her heart two months prior to then. Leafa stomped her foot in frustration, _knowing _that was what he assumed. "You've got it all wrong, Recon."

Recon took a step back, shocked. "I do?"

"Yes, you do." She hadn't spent two months moping, after all. She hadn't even been _thinking _about that until he made assumptions like always!

Recon had been the first person she really explained it to. After Aincrad was brought to the sky, she hadn't been able to handle things. Everything just seemed so out of reach to her. Everyone was so happy…but dismal things constantly lingered like shadows at the back of her mind. A few days after Aincrad appeared, she somehow spilled everything out to Recon, who listened well, and ever since he had regarded her with caution, like she were a bomb about to explode. Sometimes she swore she could sense him questioning mentally, _red wire, blue wire?_ And there he was now, finally saying something about it, right when she _wasn't _in the mood to talk.

Recon narrowed his eyebrows. "I-I just thought maybe you were thinking about the altitude limit, since y-you were staring up like that…and I know you try to fly high up there sometimes, but I thought maybe I might cheer you up and make you smile again…"

She stared. Of course. It hadn't been about her heartbreak after all, had it? _How can Recon read me so well…? _Leafa wondered with a light sigh. Then she smiled. Then she laughed and tears formed at the corners of her emerald eyes. Recon watched her warily.

"Thank you, Recon," she said sincerely, wiping her eyes. "Thank you for being here for me." Even as she said it, her smile shook.

"Leafa-chan…" Recon took a step forwards, no longer afraid of an outburst. Leafa's vision had become blurry, so she was a little surprised when he was suddenly right before her, and grabbed her hand. With his other, he brushed away her tears. "Don't cry," he told her, quietly. "If you're crying…you're not like how you usually are. If you're not smiling, you're not really Leafa…"

Leafa forced out a laugh. "Why, that sounds rather familiar."

Recon gave her an awkward smile, and Leafa beamed back. Together they glanced up at the moon above, watching over them with its soft ivory gaze. A breeze shifted the leaves on the branches of trees around them, making a pleasant rustling noise.

"Hey Recon…" Leafa began. "If I fly too high trying to reach the stars, and I end up falling, will you—" she was about to finish with something like "catch me", but Recon cut her off.

"I'll fall with you," he replied decidedly.

Leafa's eyes widened. "You'll…"

"If you fall, I'll fall with you," he repeated, more sure of himself this time. "And together someday, we'll reach Aincrad, or the moon, or the stars. Wherever you want to go, I'll be with you."

Months before, Leafa might have dismissively waved Recon away, but somewhere deep inside her she felt warm with his words, like a ball of light had been captured and held in her stomach. She felt the warmth spread to her face and realized her nose was prickling and her throat felt tight, and tears sprung to her eyes once more. Much to the surprise of the grasshead, Leafa wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you Recon," she mumbled, her words garbling with her overflowing emotions. When she pulled away, she tried to smile and held out her hand. "Now, shall we?"

Hand-in-hand the pair flew upwards as the brisk wind whisked around them, the moon in sight. When they broke through the pouffy clouds high above and hit the altitude limit, they fell into the air, somehow managing to laugh as they rode the wind.

Unlike the last time this had happened to Leafa, she wasn't alone. This time, she would not be the only one falling.

What Leafa was falling into, was of course totally and completely debatable.

_"And I will fall for you.  
I will fall for you.  
And if I fall for you,  
Would you fall too?"_

* * *

_A/N:  
Ello! So...Recon and Leafa...why? Because I can! I always loved Recon's character; I think he tries very hard to win over Leafa, and he even risks himself to save her. I think that with time she really could fall for him. Oh, and by the last sentence, I meant what she was falling into  
_both_ times, because when she fell for Kirito, he caught her physically, but he didn't fall in love with her too. I think Recon wouldn't "catch" her, he would fall with her. Also, I know many people spell Leafa's name as Lyfa...so I'm sorry if you don't like the other spelling, but that's just what I'm used to.  
This seems to resemble some of my earlier stories...which is not good since I detest those. My first SAO fanfic though!  
Thank you very much to my local library for being quiet, my crazies for making me smile, and to Ed Sheeran for giving me the idea for this.  
Rant over! And as always, thank you much for reading!  
-Silvia_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, or anything else.**


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